Link round-up for 5 March 2011

The Republic of Gilead blog is going on hiatus. It will be missed. Update: Ahab is reconsidering -- go tell him what you think. This human sexuality course was pretty educational. Hmm, this isn't quite how I remember Archie (found via Mendip). What if there were Oscars for real-life performances? Murr Brewster reports on Portland's terrible blizzard of 2011. Why would anyone need 700,000 condoms? It's hard to believe that anyone was gullible enough to fall for this creep (warning: disturbing story) (found via Mendip). If you care about your looks, skip the meth. Facebook keeps trying to erode privacy protections (here's a blog all about Facebook I've just started reading). Here's a bombing campaign we can all support. Hacker group Anonymous is not to be toyed with (but don't miss Joé McKen's post about them). You can avoid invasive TSA security theater and still fly (found via Mendip). Two-year-old Samuel Ghilain is home with his family at last. The House Tea Party Caucus is shrinking. Some conservatives realize Glenn Beck harms their cause. Obama's childhood isn't the only subject on which Huckabee is in damage-control mode. Even teabaggers want socialism when it's for themselves. The Obama recovery from the Bush recession continues. Republicans strive to create confusion about net neutrality. Fox News won't be expanding into Canada, and the reason is interesting. (found via Progressive Eruptions). Green Eagle, as always, has a wealth of material for his wingnut wrapup. House Republicans want government to stop helping people avoid foreclosure (found via Politics Plus). So why do they want to keep subsidizing profitable oil companies? The role of demographics in politics isn't as simple as people think. In Philadelphia, the drive to cut government spending has gotten results. Walker distorts the facts on state workers' pensions. Even Rasmussen shows Wisconsin voters turning against Walker. Florida's new Republican Governor inspires bipartisanship. A child-labor proposal in Missouri would push the US a step closer to Third-World status. Joseph Cannon wants revenge. Support for gay marriage grows, now broader than the opposition. Obama is a religious hypocrite -- and that's a good thing. Why would any non-Mormon choose to be subject to BYU's weird taboo code? A look at Scientology can shed light on Christianity. Minnesota pushes religion on prison inmates. Creationists abuse dinosaurs to spread their nonsense. Not just on abortion but also on contraception, rightists want big, intrusive government. More here (found via Republic of Gilead). The Christian Right rallies to defend anti-gay discrimination. More here (both found via Republic of Gilead). The Islamic practice of forced marriage for minors is a threat even in California. It's not only little kids that have reason to fear Catholic priests. The roots of ultra-capitalist Koch Industries lie in -- Stalin's USSR. If you're British, there are two simple things you can do to help your country. Atheist Ireland looks at Irish political parties' positions on secular reform (the new Irish government is a coalition of Fine Gael and Labour, whose responses look promising). From Iran to Cuba to Zimbabwe to China, dictators fret over the Arab rebellion (more on China here). Qaddhafi's girlfriend flees Libya. The man who murdered two American airmen in Frankfurt was -- big surprise -- a jihadist. So was this thwarted terrorist in Britain. Religious fanatics commit murder to defend Pakistan's insane blasphemy law. Iran's nuclear-bomb program suffers another set-back. Tim McGaha looks at the Confederate constitution and the roots of the Soviet Sputnik triumph. The amphipod Phronima uses a corpse as home and nursery. Guys, prepare to seethe with envy -- the male cichlid fish has a gene for getting blowjobs. Stem-cell technology will make an important contribution to life extension.